


The Barrier

by carolinablu85



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: AU, First Meetings, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-07
Updated: 2012-01-07
Packaged: 2017-10-29 02:30:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/314847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinablu85/pseuds/carolinablu85
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>He made it his life's mission to get Noah to laugh.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	The Barrier

**Author's Note:**

> Written from the prompt "Urgent/Laugh"

The first time Luke noticed the guy was the second week of class. He had been running late, and so instead of sitting in his normal spot (twelfth row, third seat from the right), he slid into the back of the lecture hall, half gasping, barely holding onto his books and messenger bag.

It was about a half hour later, as the professor droned on and on about feudal states or whatever, and as Luke let his mind and eyes wander, that he saw him. In the far left corner, chewing on the end of his pencil, sat probably the most beautiful boy Luke had ever seen.

He was hunched in a little on himself, as though trying to hide his six-foot-something frame (   
_good luck with that, Stretch_   
). He had a serious, concentrated look on his face, like he was determined not to smile. Which was a shame, because a face that nice to look at deserved a smile, right?

From then on, Luke found himself sitting in the back for class, one ear on Professor McBoring, one eye on Serious(ly) Hot Guy. It was by the fourth week of class that Luke realized the guy never smiled. Ever. Not even when the kid in the front row fell asleep during a lecture and fell out of his chair. Luke’s curiosity continued to grow.

It was the sixth week of class that he learned his name was Noah.

After midterms, the professor split them into study groups for their final project. Luke couldn’t have been more excited and surprised by his luck when the ‘Noah Wilson’ in his group was none other than Hot Guy. As the seven of them gathered around, he smiled brightly at the Noah-Formerly-Known-As-Hot-Guy. “Hi, I’m Luke.”

Noah looked up from studying his shoes. “Hi.” It was the first time those freakishly blue eyes had actually looked directly at him, and Luke’s smile almost faltered at how bright they were. Wow. Noah’s face was polite enough, almost friendly, but no real smile. “I’m Noah.”

Not that that discouraged Luke in any way. He made it his life’s mission to get Noah to laugh. The study group met twice a week, and Luke filled as much of Noah’s silence as he could, telling stories, making up jokes, anything short of dressing in drag and doing the hula.

He still wasn’t ready to concede defeat, even though he had used some of his best moves. Embarrassing childhood stories- check. His best Professor McBoring impression- check. Even his twenty minute thesis on how Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent relate to The Odd Couple... So far, nada.

Though he had knocked down a few walls, definitely. Noah actually smiled at him now, responded to stories with follow-up questions, even threw some snark and quips back at Luke. He always took the seat next to Luke, or saved one for him if he got to study group first. He always seemed to get Luke’s ideas before everyone else, and always gave Luke his full attention. Just not the elusive laugh.

In the ninth week, Luke offered to hold their final study session at the farm, hoping the change in scenery would help with both the group’s studying and his Operation Turn Serious Hot Guy Into Laughing Hot Guy.

Noah was quiet and reserved when he first arrived (five minutes earlier than everyone else), but Luke couldn’t really blame him this time. Surrounded by Snyders for the first time, it could be a little overwhelming. They were complete strangers to Noah, with an emphasis on the ‘strange.’

The group broke for lunch around one o’clock, three of them taking a car back into town to get takeout from Al’s, two others staying put to finish up their notes at the kitchen table. When Luke got back from the bathroom, Noah had disappeared.

Jill looked up from her notes and before he could say a word, pointed out the porch door with a somewhat knowing smile. Which Luke promptly ignored.    
_Girls,_   
 he shook his head internally. He’d never understand them.

It took him a few minutes to spot Noah outside, and when he did he immediately hung back to watch. Noah was leaning against a fence post near the barn, gently petting the horse that had approached him. His head was bent low to listen as Luke’s youngest sister chattered on and on excitedly.

“Magic is my favorite horse, she’s really nice and doesn’t stomp or bite, but Daddy still doesn’t let me ride by myself because he says I’m too little. But I’m bigger than I was last year, but Daddy says I have to wait till I’m nine. And that’s how old Faith was when she started, but she’s bigger than me and I’m scared I won’t be big enough next year. What if I stop growing?”

Luke was pretty sure Natalie had gills hidden somewhere that allowed her to breathe and talk at the same time.

Noah, for his part, took in her incessant rambling as easily as he did Luke’s, though Luke was more than a little shocked to see a look of such open friendliness on his face. It made him look younger, sweeter. Noah shrugged at Natalie, leaning down even more. “Want to know a secret?” he asked in a stage whisper.

“Yes!” she whispered back eagerly.

“I was littler than everyone else when I was your age,” he confessed, nodding when her eyes widened. “But by the next year I grew a lot, and now look at me,” he grinned exaggeratedly, and Luke was almost bowed over by the sight of it. “Now I’m too tall.”

Natalie giggled, her own dilemma now forgotten. “You’re not too tall,” she admonished. Then, cocking her head to the side, she amended, “But I don’t want to be as tall as you.”

Noah smiled again, almost    
_almost_   
 laughed, and poked her teasingly. “I don’t think you’re in danger of that one, Shorty.”

She giggled again, and Luke felt an almost silly sense of relief that Natalie wasn’t the first one to break the Noah Wilson Laugh Barrier. That was Luke’s job and no one else’s. Deciding it would be better not to embarrass either of them, Luke snuck back into the house before they noticed him there.

It was hours later, when the studying was done, when everyone was leaving, when Emma was begging Noah to take just a few more of her cookies back to the dorm with him, that Luke made his next move.

He smiled as he walked Noah back to his truck. “So thanks for coming. And being so nice to my sister.”

Of course Noah had to blush at that. He shrugged a little. “I like kids. At that age, they’re nice to talk to. It’s when they get older that you have to-” he cut himself off, looking away again.

Luke knew a ‘long story’ when he saw it, and it wasn’t like he didn’t have plenty of his own. So he kept the smile on his face, made it softer. “Well, if there was a way to keep Nat that age and stop her from ever becoming a teenager, I’d be all for it.”

Noah relaxed, facing him again. “As long as she gets to be old enough to ride Magic,” he smiled, and it was that big goofy smile he had given Natalie, and Luke just about died. He curled his hands into fists at his sides to keep from showing it on his face, watching as Noah tossed his schoolbag into the passenger seat of the truck and then turned back to him.

“Thanks for coming,” he said, then promptly kicked and punched himself mentally for repeating his lame words from earlier.

“Thanks for having me,” Noah replied, then quickly added. “Over. Thanks for having me over. To your house. God,” he ducked his head again, rolling his eyes, and Luke almost started laughing himself when all of a sudden Noah was staring at him intently. “Would you like to go out with me sometime?”

“What?” was Luke’s incredibly articulate answer.

Noah fidgeted with his keys, twisting them through his fingers. “Would you like to go out with me sometime?” he repeated. “Like, you know, a movie. Maybe dinner, if you want?”

“If I…?” Luke shook himself out of the trance. “Yeah, yeah. I’d love to.”

“Really?” Noah treated him to another grin. “Great, I... great. So I’ll see you in class tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Luke followed him the few steps back to his truck, getting close as Noah leaned out of his open window towards him. “I’ll save you a seat.” And when Noah pursed his lips into the semblance of a mocking smile, Luke couldn’t stop himself from stepping in and meeting those lips with his own. Softly, quickly, but still. Perfect.

Noah’s eyes had closed at the kiss, and he opened them slowly, staring at Luke in something between shock and wonder. And delight. Luke was way too tempted to kiss him again.

So he did.

This time Noah reached out tentatively, his hand resting against Luke’s face. When they pulled away, Noah shook his head a little. “I feel kinda bad.”

“About what?” Luke couldn’t really think beyond    
_Kiss him again, you fool! Kiss him again!_

Noah smirked at him. Actually smirked. “I know what you’ve been trying to do. Or, at least, I think I know. So I figured I’d help you cheat a little.”

Luke frowned, confused. “What?”

Noah leaned in even closer somehow, his torso almost halfway out of the window. His voice was soft and still a little shy as he whispered in Luke’s ear, “I’m really ticklish.” His lips brushed against Luke’s cheek, and then he and his truck were gone, backing away from the farm and disappearing down the road.

And all Luke could do was laugh.


End file.
